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It's funny you bring this up, because of all the religions out there, Buddhism is the one that intrigues me the most...

Honestly though, I don't know too much about it. As far as I know, you don't have to believe in a god to be Buddhist because it's more like a general set of rules to live by rather than some sort of god telling you to live your life a certain way or be "damned for all eternity..." I think...

I don't know for sure, I could be totally wrong about this! Those are just my thoughts :) I hope that helped you in some way!

Buddhism is a non-exclusive spiritual philosophy. As such, I would argue that you could easily combine it with just about any theology or even no theology at all. Some forms of it are indeed Atheistic, one of the few Atheist religions out there. It's not half bad either. Buddhists have spent a lot of time doing introspective study of the mind. Naturally, they seem to be getting a lot of things right (it's being verified by neuroscience).

I suggest you look up Alan Watts. You can find a lot of his stuff on youtube. I've found that a lot of what he says meshes well with Atheism and is just pretty awesome overall.

umm help me understand, and i hope i am not tracking off here.. but i find a little similarity in some buddhist principles and that of christianity in that they both believe that man's birth is to suffer, that we must cut short our cravings/wants/aspirations.. seems like a denial of the over reaching aspiration of the humanism, which is very anti-christian. i see a replay of the whole Icarus myth here.. though their philosophy of the middle path is worth a note, isnt the purpose still the same?

that's a good point. Based off my reading of a few Buddhist texts, the teachings don't state that mankind is BORN to suffer, but that suffering is inevitable unless mankind recognizes the Four Noble truths, etc.

Basically, humans have to throw off the chains of materialism and physical attachment in order to achieve their true potential.

not necessarily all that is material, just the frivolous things, like a chrome-plated toilet, or 5 PS3s, or a Hummer, for example.

I'm a student, and I need my laptop and bed and desk to effectively study on, but some frivolous things, like excess eating, or a 5000 dollar laptop, or boxes and boxes of videogames, I can live without.

true potential is whatever you *want* it to be. The texts just say that materialism is a distraction.

I think it's possible to have peace of mind while having an external peace as well, if that's what you mean...

but there is really no tab on what is excess and what is need.. so the dilemma of this choice too lies within.. i guess thats what gautama meant by "cravings" amd obviously when one has stopped running behind.. there will be peace on either side.. ahh enlightenment!

"only as much"... tough call, that one. but then again, it isnt meant to be easy to come out of the suffering either!

what about its take on nirvana? the breaking of this worldly cycle... again quite christian in its romanticising the other side of this world... almost echoes that this life is not the best thing to be... ??